Which reservations are hardest to get?

[dewdropfairy]

Forgive me, I'm new here and just learning the ropes. We are going to WDW in a couple of weeks. We don't have the meal plan and aren't planning on doing a lot of table service restaurants, but we might try a few. I'm looking over menus and stuff and trying to figure out where we might want to go. At 20 days out, which do you think would be hardest to get (i.e., don't waste your time looking at THAT menu) Any suggestions?

All I know is that Victoria and Albert and Le Cellier are tough to get, right?

Sci-Fi and 50's sound cool. I'm outnumbered by boys so Princess dining is out, but we might want to try a different character meal.

 

[shawnh199]

We found it difficult to get an early ADR for the Tusker House Breakfast. The earlier the better, so you can be done near the time of rope drop to walk a few feet and get onto the safari ride. This was our favorite character breakfast. (FYI - we ate lunch here also and the buffet was awesome for it as well.)

We did 6 character breakfasts that week - Crystal Palace - which is in refurb so you would have to try Liberty Tree Tavern for MK. It's great being in the park before it opens. Chef Mickey's was also good. We really liked Ohana's for breakfast. With two girls, the princess breakfast at Epcot is a must for us. And although it doesn't get many good reviews (mainly lunch and dinner) we enjoyed Hollywood and Vine at Hollywood studios.

The Tusker House breakfast is a must do for our family now. We tried it a few weeks ago for the first time and loved it. The buffet is large and has a lot of variety. Donald (outside for pics), Daisy, Goofy and Mickey were the characters. (I've heard Minnie shows from time to time.)

We also ate at Sci-fi and 50's. Sci-fi was OK, but nothing really special. 50's Prime Time Cafe was great. We had a great server (the kind who gets on you for elbows on the table, ordering too many refills for drinks, etc) who was very funny. She only gets onto the adults, so the kids loved it! The fried chicken was the best I ever had (4 pieces - a ton of food). My husband had the pot roast (and my chicken breast) and thought it was rather good as well.

We were not able to get Le Cellier ADR's until about a week out from our trip. It was well worth the wait. The NY strip was one of the best steaks we have ever had (and we love steak), and the bread was awesome as well. This too will be a must do for us in the future. My husband wants to eat here atleast once a day on our next trip.

I don't know how hard it is to get reservations for January, but we only had a 90 day window and lots of people trying to get reservations for their free dining offer that was going on at the same time we were there.

Good luck on getting the ADR's you are looking for.

 

[a1tinkfans]

Forgive me, I'm new here and just learning the ropes. We are going to WDW in a couple of weeks. We don't have the meal plan and aren't planning on doing a lot of table service restaurants, but we might try a few. I'm looking over menus and stuff and trying to figure out where we might want to go. At 20 days out, which do you think would be hardest to get (i.e., don't waste your time looking at THAT menu) Any suggestions?

All I know is that Victoria and Albert and Le Cellier are tough to get, right?

Sci-Fi and 50's sound cool. I'm outnumbered by boys so Princess dining is out, but we might want to try a different character meal.

Try Off hours, NOT 12 but 11:30 and not 6 but 5:15 on...best of luck you can keep trying and do not give up...you will most likely get everything you want! Best of Luck

 

[Pakey]

Resorts are always going to be easier than parks. If you are interested in something in the park, you can go to Guest Services and they can check for all openings.

We have done walkup to Le Cellier in January when they first start serving dinner.

You can often get into Sci Fi if you are there when they open for lunch. Last January, 50's was pretty empty when we went for dinner (Tuesday night).

Cape May Breakfast (character) only had 5 tables full when we ate there on a Thursday morning and the character intereraction was really good. We practically had to shove Donald and Goofy away from the table; they were there so long.

There is also a character meal over at either the Swan or Dolphin that isn't on the dining plan so might be easy to get into last minute.

 

[arcticdisneylovers]

I really liked using the online booking system, it suggests other restaurants available at similiar times. I wasn't even going to try to book Le Cellier because people said that it was really hard to get a ressie. So as I was booking SAI, Le Cellier showed available at the same time so I jumped on it Pour over the menus and identify your 1st and 2nd choices for each meal. I picked my park days first and had no trouble getting ADRs. But I did book a couple of monthes ago for Jan. We like to early for all of our meals so maybe that helps. You might be lucky too

 

[cbg1027]

I don't think it would be a waste of time to try and book anywhere. People sometimes cancel, and at the last minute, so who knows?

That said, I wouldn't get your hopes up for:
CRT
Le Cellier
Any in-park character breakfasts
Chef Mickey's
'Ohana
California Grill

If you're looking for a character meal sans princesses at this point, I would recommend breakfast at Cape May Cafe. It's a buffet and they have Minnie, Goofy, and Donald.

 

[SweetSerenity]

I just booked my ADRs yesterday for February, and I had a hard time getting Le Cellier, 50's Primetime Cafe, Rose and Crown, and Yak & Yeti. However, I did do it online, which offers a date range option. It was able to show me available times on days I didn't search for. Also, I did what was mentioned and searched for earlier, off-times. Luckily, I was able to get all the restaurants I wanted just not at my preferred times, which isn't as important as actually going.

The more flexible you are, the more options you'll have. I would recommend booking your dining reservations online just because you can play around with dates and time. Plus, as a PP stated, it does make suggestions for other restaurants available for the times you searched. At any rate, don't give up hope on it and good luck to you!

 

[black562]

It seems to me that its so much easier now that ADRs are back at 180 days. Does anyone else have that experience? I'm seeing popular spots open even in March as I play around on the site, so I can only imagine how open things will be right at the 180 day mark.

The 90 days was a nightmare but I guess people have a tough time making plans a full six months out.

 

[luvndisney358]

Le Celllier!!! BUT DO NOT GIVE UP

I have been calling for three weeks straight and tonight is my lucky night!!! I managed to get an 8 PM reservation next Monday night for four of us! Celebrating our 25th Wedding Anniversary Now will REALLY be a treat!!!

Keep calling, Keep trying, don't give up!! Dreams DO COME TRUE!!!

 

[PIRATEGIRL007]

Le Celllier!!! BUT DO NOT GIVE UP

Persistence is the key. We have had trouble getting a little bit of everything at some time or another, but we usually go during free dining. BUT that being said I have been able to grab Le Cellier (twice), Boma, CRT, and O'hana well within 30 days in. CRT and 1 Le Cellier trip the week of while we were already there. I just check everyday a few times a day and now that its online its alot quicker. I think a time or two I got pity reservations b/c I was driving them nuts calling!

 

[luvndisney358]

I agree with Pirategirl and Shawnh as well. We are days away from our trip and I've been trying for Le Cellier for over a month or so. Just last night, we got the reservation! Persistence IS key, and a hopeful, happy spirit doesn't hurt either! Good luck to you!!

 

[iheartdolewhips]

I just booked my ADRs yesterday for February, and I had a hard time getting Le Cellier, 50's Primetime Cafe, Rose and Crown, and Yak & Yeti.

I'm honestly really surprised you had a hard time getting Yak and Yeti. We've walked up there at lunch time on our last two trips and didn't have any trouble getting seated. In fact, we only waited 10 minutes at the most.

 

[SweetSerenity]

I'm honestly really surprised you had a hard time getting Yak and Yeti. We've walked up there at lunch time on our last two trips and didn't have any trouble getting seated. In fact, we only waited 10 minutes at the most.

I was a little surprised, myself. We had lunch there in August and didn't have to wait very long, either. I was also searching for a specific day, which happens to be one of the nights they do the evening EMHs at Animal Kingdom. Maybe that's why it was a little difficult. It all worked out, though

 

[iwrbnd]

We couldn't get into CRT one year. They told me to keep trying for cancelations. By our 4th day I was getting tired of calling but decided to give it one more try. There was a breakfast opening the next morning for our family of 5! So, you never know!